It’s the most wonderful time of the year, that’s right, it’s DC Flag Day! Neighbors United for DC Statehood proudly hosts a photo contest celebrating the DC flag and our pride in the District while also raising awareness about our desire to have our star added to the US flag as the 51st state in the union. From now until June 14, residents from around the District are encouraged to take photos with the DC flag to highlight civic pride in who we are and where we live.

On Flag Day, June 14th, the photos will be posted on our website, just as in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017. We will ask that you share your photo and our post with all of the photos with others via email, Twitter, Facebook, and other outlets with family, friends, and members of Congress around the country to highlight that we are Americans just like them, with the exception of being denied equal political rights.

Please use #DCFlagDay for all twitter posts!

This isn’t just a fun way to highlight civic pride and to demonstrate our thirst to be equal partners in American democracy; this is a doggone contest to see who can take the best photos and be recognized with a snazzy certificate of recognition for your efforts! Make your photos fun, serious, wacky, or whatever else strikes your fancy, but make them compelling. We are and should be proud of our beloved city-state and need to show the nation who we are. When they know that 700,000+ of their neighbors are disenfranchised, they will be compelled to join our struggle for equality via statehood.

Please join this effort by taking a photo with the DC flag at your home, school, place of employment, special place in your neighborhood, or think outside the box and send us something we’d never expect. Creativity is encouraged over conformity!

Categories

Awards will be given for the following categories (remember, all photos need to incorporate the DC flag!):

Best Ward- Given to the Councilmember with the highest volume of individual photo tweets with their Ward’s hashtag (#Ward1, #Ward7, etc. along with the #DCFlagDay hashtag)

Best Campaign Team- Yes, it’s a campaign year and we’d love to see the campaign team that brings the DC Love with a great photo or photos

Best Advocacy- Given to the photo that focuses on encouraging a specific House or Senate member not yet cosponsoring the statehood bills in Congress to cosponsor the bill.

Best Group- Given to the community group with the best group photo with DC Flag

Best Elected Official- Given to the elected official (Mayor, AG, CM, ANC, School Board, etc.) with the dopest and most compelling photo

Best Agency- Given to the DC Government Agency (Feds, you can try too but my guess is y’all are out) with the best photo

Best Business- Given to the business with the best photo promoting the DC Flag and its business

Best Non-Profit- Given to the non-profit that has the best photo representing their organization and our beloved city-state

Artistic Expression- Given to the person/group with the most artistic photo

Best Pet- Given to the pet (owner) with the most cute, quirky, or compelling photo of a non-human living thing

Best Friend in a State-Given to the person/group from one of the 50 states with the best photo imploring their Representative/Senators to support DC Statehood or thanking those who already do!

Best Statehood Shot-Given to the person/group with the best photo symbolic of the fight for statehood

How to submit photos

Submit as many photos as you’d like. Just make sure they incorporate the DC flag!

You can submit photos in two ways:

Email (before June 14):Send photos to unitedforstatehood@gmail.com by 11:59pm on June 13, and let us know which category/ies you’re competing for so we can post them for you on Twitter and share them on our webpage. Additionally, please share details about the group/people that took the photos (names, etc). The more information the better. By emailing us, you give us permission to post the photo publicly.

Social media (on Flag Day ONLY – June 14th): Post your photo(s) on Twitter with the #DCFlagDay and #DCStatehood hashtags.

Judging and winners

Neighbors United for DC Statehood will judge submissions and the winners will be announced on Monday, June 18th. All winners will receive a unique certificate printed on the finest paper a copy store can provide and that we can afford. In addition to having multiple category winners, there will be one Grand Prize Winner who will receive the esteemed DC Flag Day trophy.

This contest should be a fun and interactive way to highlight civic pride and let the country know what we want and deserve: Statehood.